Senator Burr’s letter to the editor (“Sen. Richard Burr Responds,” Aug. 18 Xpress) says that he voted in the past for unemployment benefits when cuts were made to other government expenditures. He seems to be concerned about the national deficit.
I find that explanation odd in light of his repeated votes for funding wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He did not demand cuts in other areas for these unnecessary and useless wars and occupations. He did not seem to be concerned about adding to the national debt when he voted for these wars which greatly added to our national debt.
And, boy, did these wars and occupations add to our national debt. They added over $1 trillion so far, but the final cost will likely be over $3 trillion. And this is in light of the fact that Iraq never threatened or attacked us (and while Afghanistan did have some criminals who helped plan the attack on 9/11, those criminals have long ago moved on).
And yet, we are still in both countries. I know Mr. Obama claimed that “major combat operations” are over in Iraq, yet a US soldier was killed just last week by a rocket attack. That sounds like combat to me. …
I certainly would feel better about my tax dollars going to help my fellow Americans rather than using them to destroy foreign countries and countless lives.
— Susan Oehler
Asheville
but if you stop all these expensive wars, what about all those poor, unemployed Haliburton and Blackwater employees?
Susan, in case you haven’t noticed, Prez Obama has reversed himself and now supports the wars. He not only supports the wars, but he has increased troop levels in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So when you criticize Sen Burr, you need to include Prez Obama in that criticism too. Although I have more respect for Burr because he has been consistent. Obama has said whatever is politically expedient for him at the time. Obama was against the war before he was for it.
Yes Clyde ,brother Obee speak with forked tongue. It seems he’s just like Bush/a lying sackoshat. I also respect consistent. Hitler was consistant. Bet you liked him too?
Dickyfauge, it is not necessary to attempt to insult those you disagree with. I do not like Hitler. Nor do I like Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, or other murdering dictators.
Obama has been a big disappointment to everyone, left, middle, right. He has been a dismal failure, I suspect, primarily from his gross lack of executive experience, and his unworkable polticial philosophy. Americans do not embrace socialism, no matter how sugar-coated.
Senator Burr deserves re-election. Has has done a good job for North Carolina. Unlike many democrats, Burr holds town hall meetings so he can connect with ordinary citizens. I will vote for Senator Burr, thank you. And you, dickyfauge, have a wonderful day!
cyde sez: “Prez Obama has reversed himself and now supports the wars. He not only supports the wars, but he has increased troop levels in both Iraq and Afghanistan. ”
Actually, Obama has lowered troop levels in Iraq, as he said he would do. He did raise troop levels in Afghanistan, but it appears you were paying much attention during the campaign, because that was a key component of his platform. And those are just facts. Not a ‘defense’ of Obama.
[b]Obama was against the war before he was for it. [/b]
False.
Sometimes I wonder where all the factual, intelligent criticism of Obama is at. So many people seem content with merely manufacturing criticism out of thin air.
edit; ‘weren’t paying much attention’.
Obviously.
Seriously, where do people pull this stuff from?
You too Clyde. I will vote for Burr whilst holding my nose. He and Jesse Helms did a lot for North Carolina.Jesse fought the homosexials,the antisegregationists and the socialists and the antigun demarcrats.I applaud him and his stand on tobacco. Which has nev er been proven in my mind to cause any harm to anyone.Clyde i am glad we can see eye to eye on this?
Cigarette mouth with the weird symbol (above) “seriously where do people pull this stuff from?”
How about the Huffington Post? To wit:
Campaigning for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008, Senator Barack Obama said: “I don’t want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place.”
But as Andrew Bacevich notes in his new book, “Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War,” as President, Barack Obama has done the opposite: he has promoted and acted on behalf of the mindset that leads to war.
Most prominently, President Obama has so far missed every major exit ramp for starting to get out of Afghanistan, instead escalating militarily and “doubling down” on “counterinsurgency” in Afghanistan — Vietnam 2.0 — even as the war has become increasingly unpopular in the United States — as it has been in Afghanistan and in the rest of the world. The majority of Americans, three-quarters of Democrats, and three-fifths of House Democrats want President Obama to establish a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. But the White House so far refuses to even publicly discuss such a move, even as it claims to support “Afghan-led reconciliation” with leaders of the Afghan Taliban, which, if real, almost certainly would require a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces, a key demand of Afghan insurgents…
–by Robert Naiman
Looks like “Obama was against the war before he was for it” from here. I do wonder why some people are so reactive in defending Obama that they appear clueless.
As far as Burr goes, he can’t be any worse than the politcians the democrats have been putting up lastely. And at least he is a known quantity.